HMS Sheffield memorial to be made in city using Sheffield steel after fundraising appeal smashes £15K target

An HMS Sheffield memorial being created to mark the 40th anniversary of the ship’s sinking during the Falklands War will be made in the city using Sheffield steel.
By Robert Cumber
Published 22nd Mar 2022, 10:21 GMT
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The new statue at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire is due to be unveiled on May 4 – exactly four decades since an Argentinian missile struck and destroyed the second HMS Sheffield, killing 20 crew members and injuring many more.

It will act as a place of remembrance for those who sadly lost their lives that day and will honour everyone who served on that ship and the two other ships to have been named after the city – one of which played a key role during the Second World War and the other of which served with the Royal Navy for 14 years before being sold to Chile in 2003.

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It will be a source of pride too for the crew of the fourth HMS Sheffield, a Type 26 frigate which will be part of the Royal Navy's new £3.7 billion fleet of submarine hunters.

A model showing how the new HMS Sheffield memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum will look. The memorial, designed by Peter Naylor, is due to be unveiled on May 4, 2022, 40 years to the day the second ship to bear the name was struck and destroyed during the Falklands War, with the loss of 20 crew membersA model showing how the new HMS Sheffield memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum will look. The memorial, designed by Peter Naylor, is due to be unveiled on May 4, 2022, 40 years to the day the second ship to bear the name was struck and destroyed during the Falklands War, with the loss of 20 crew members
A model showing how the new HMS Sheffield memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum will look. The memorial, designed by Peter Naylor, is due to be unveiled on May 4, 2022, 40 years to the day the second ship to bear the name was struck and destroyed during the Falklands War, with the loss of 20 crew members
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HMS Sheffield survivor says new memorial would 'mean so much'

A fundraising appeal for the memorial, launched by the HMS Sheffield Association, has coasted past its £15,000 target.

More than £18,000 has now been donated, and any money left over once the statue is in place will be divided equally between the National Memorial Arboretum and the The Royal Navy, Royal Marines Charity.

The statue has been designed by sculptor Peter Naylor, who in 1991 was given the Queen’s Gulf War Medal and has created memorials for RAF 158 Squadron, RAF 47 Squadron, the Women’s Land Army and The Lost Trawlermen of Hull.

The second HMS Sheffield before it was destroyed during the Falklands War. A memorial is being unveiled to mark the 40th anniversary of the day it was hit by a missile on May 4, 1982, killing 20 crew membersThe second HMS Sheffield before it was destroyed during the Falklands War. A memorial is being unveiled to mark the 40th anniversary of the day it was hit by a missile on May 4, 1982, killing 20 crew members
The second HMS Sheffield before it was destroyed during the Falklands War. A memorial is being unveiled to mark the 40th anniversary of the day it was hit by a missile on May 4, 1982, killing 20 crew members

HMS Sheffield memorial: Survivor recalls horror after ship was hit during Falklands War

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The Master Cutler of Sheffield was asked to help find a Sheffield Steel manufacturer to make the memorial, and several companies came forward to help, led by William Cook and Tinsley

Bridge.

The memorial represents the bow of a warship breaking the waves, contained within the crest of the first HMS Sheffield, a cruiser, and with the more modern crest used by the destroyer and the frigate which followed set atop on the fo'c's'le deck.

The engraving will include the words ‘Shiny Sheff’, as the first ship was nicknamed due to the amount of stainless steel used in its construction, the dates of the three ships, and the message

‘fair winds and following seas’.

Related topics:SheffieldRoyal NavyQueen